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Pope Leo XIV ended the salary cuts for cardinals and high-ranking Vatican officials that were decided by his predecessor Francis in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a decree published this Monday.
In March 2021, the Argentine pope reduced the salaries of cardinals by 10% and those of high-ranking officials of the dicasteries, the Vatican's "ministries," by 8% as an austerity measure to alleviate the Holy See's finances, which were hard hit by the health crisis, in a context of chronic deficit.
In a "motu proprio" (papal decree) published this Monday, the day of his 71st birthday, the American pope explains that he has decided to repeal this measure starting September 1, 2026.
The limitations, which were "necessary to face the exceptional challenge of the pandemic," "can now be overcome," explains the pontiff, who assures that Vatican institutions will continue to work to ensure their "economic sustainability."
The repeal is not retroactive, the text specifies.
According to estimates, a cardinal of the Curia, the central government of the Catholic Church, earns between 4,500 and 5,000 euros per month (between 5,200 and 5,700 dollars).
The announcement comes in a more favorable financial context for the Holy See. In its latest annual report, published in May, the Vatican bank highlighted a "record year," with a net profit of 51 million euros (58 million dollars).
In another document published this Monday, Leo XIV canceled a project of Pope Francis that provided for moving part of the Vatican library's archives, considered too voluminous, outside the walls of the microstate, and opted to build a new building within the Vatican.
[Publicidad]